PPS 17: Control of Outdoor AdvertisementsAnnex B: The Enforcement of Advertisement Control

1. Article 84(2) of the Planning (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 states that any person who displays an advertisement in contravention of the Advertisement Regulations is guilty of an offence and on summary conviction is liable to a fine with the potential for further daily fines in the case of a continuing offence 4. Furthermore, Article 84(3) provides that a person shall be deemed to display an advertisement where it is displayed on land of which he is the owner or occupier, or it gives publicity to his goods, trade, business or other concerns.

2. In effect, this means that the Department may in such cases seek to prosecute:

the person, business or company responsible for the advertisement;

the landowner or the occupier of the land;

the person, business or company being advertised; or

any combination of these 5.

3. The Planning Order also makes it clear that in the case of (2) or (3) above a person shall not be guilty of an offence if he can prove that the unauthorised advertisement was displayed without his knowledge or consent.

4. Planning Policy Statement 9 'The Enforcement of Planning Control', sets out the general approach the Department will take when dealing with, amongst other matters, unauthorised advertisements. PPS 9 advises that the Department will normally pursue court action for unauthorised advertisements which it considers unacceptable.

5. The purpose of this annex is to complement the advice in PPS 9 by outlining the steps the Department will take in response to an unauthorised advertisement that it considers is unacceptable.

4 The maximum fine is currently £1,000 with a daily maximum for a continuing offence of £100. The Department is however bringing forward legislation that proposes an increase in the maximum fine to £2,500 and the daily maximum fine to £250.5 There is no requirement where enforcement is taken that this will be against all those with an interest in the land or otherwise involved in the display of an unauthorised advertisement.